Cora's call
by aussiechick00
Summary: this is a ff of the movie four years after the movie is set, Cora is dying. there is only one thing that can save her, and she'll never admit it.....AstroxCora
1. Chapter 1

Cora was lying on her bed. She had tears in her crystal blue eyes. it was the middle of the night and she ignored everyone who thumped on her door. Cora was thinking hard. Something was going to happen to her and there was nothing she could do to stop it. her mum had tried to talk to her a few times, but she had ignored her. Cora grabbed her zPod, spinning through songs and trying to drown out all the talk. She was seventeen now. It had been a long time since anything interesting had happened to her, and considering her usual sarcastically tolerable attitude, crying was something new. She remembered everything. Good times bad times, there was something she had to tell someone about. It didn't matter who, just as long as it wasn't her parents. They had lost her once before, and she had lost them, and it wasn't happening again. Shut up Cora your making an idiot of yourself, she thought. She breathed in and out softly and wiped the tears away from her face. quickly she placed down her zPod and slipped off her bed. She sat at the dressing table to get rid of her smudged eyeliner.

"cora?" Cora felt her heart give a little kick when she heard Astro's soft voice. She felt her cheeks go red and yet said nothing.

"hey can I come in? Or are you reapplying your makeup?" he asked jokily. Cora sighed and quickly wiped off the eyeliner with a damp cloth. She clicked the open button and Astro gently pushed the door open. "your mum let me in," he explained. he saw Cora's face and almost immediately his face fell. By now Cora's face was looking normal again, as if she hadn't just had a completely uncalled for sob fest. But Astro knew her too well. He smiled to try and make her feel less vulnerable. Cora smiled up at him comfortably. Astro's face fell. He sat down next to her.

"what's the matter?" he asked caringly. Cora looked at him. She smiled insincerely.

"nothing's the matter, I'm fine," she lied, her face dropping as she stopped talking. Astro watched her, searching for her eyes. he just wanted to understand. Her face was pale with fright and shock but Cora didn't want to let that get to her. she pulled herself up and wandered to the opposite side of the room. Astro continued to watch her with growing concern. Cora sniffed and then laughed a bit.

"it's hard to believe isn't it? it's already been four years since we met," she whispered. "and you've never even told me how you feel about me," she said. Astro looked at her in confusion.

"why does that matter right now?" he asked from her bed. "what, did something happen?" he added in a worried tone. Cora stared into space for a few minutes. How on Earth could she tell him? She swallowed. A solemn look was on her face.

"Astro, you - i..." she felt the words in her throat, as soon as she said the words, Astro would freak out. And then Cora would actually have to _talk_ about it with him. "I'm dying, Astro," she said, not even bothering to stop her tears anymore. Astro stared at her in complete shock. his eyes looked terrified and his hands were clenched in painfilled fists. He smiled briefly.

"no, your not dying," he denied, "that's not true," he said. Cora shuddered and bit her lips. She shook her head. she clenched her fists and stared at the floor.

"Astro," she cried quietly. "i have a terminal illness, something I can't pronounce," she sobbed.

"no! Cora that's not true!" Astro shouted at her, running over to her. He grabbed her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. Cora was just crying, unable to stop herself. Astro felt his heart beating a million times a minute. His eyes were sore and his throat was clogged with tears. "oh Cora," he broke off and just held her in his arms. He felt her shudder silently and knew she was fighting with herself whether to feel this vulnerable or to just runaway.

"my dad can fix you Cora, you'll see, he'll do what he did to me, you'll be the same as always," he tried. Cora pushed away from him. The very idea made her feel sick.

"It won't be the same, will it? not really," she said. Astro caught her eyes and just watched her. He knew she was right. "it'll never be the same," she said, walking purposefully over to him so she was only a breath's distance away from him. Astro stared into her royal blue eyes painfully, obviously trying to picture any kind of solution. Cora looked at him, desperately wanting to smash against him and never to let go. She wished there was a different way she could get through this. But she knew the only way she could get rid of this horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach would break both their hearts. she slapped him. Hard. She had her fists clenched uncomfortably, horrified that she had actually done it. "I'm gonna die and all your doing is trying to find me a replacement before I even go!" Cora cried at him. She ran to the window and bit her lip. She breathed in and out and then leapt out, running off. Astro felt his eyes water, his heart hurt. There was nothing he could do. She was right. Astro was trying to replace her, just like his father had tried to replace him. Astro collapsed on Cora's bed, sighing in frustration. He stared up at the ceiling, drowning in a sea of misery and confusion. A million thoughts collided in his brain. Confusion, shock, horror, terror, pain, every bad emotion buzzed round his head. nothing could be worse than what he just heard. his phone rang.

"Orrin? Yeah I'm coming," he said and hung up.

Cora ran. She had been running for who knows how long now. She had burning tears in her eyes. she would never be free. She couldn't believe that in the space of time since_ THAT _incident four years ago, all of the orphans, her friends and "family" had broken apart, disappeared and even died. There was a weakness in Cora's nimble legs now. It was getting to her again. She didn't care. Cora continued to run as fast as she could. Sooner or later, she found herself in the trash heap of robots that people hadn't cleared up yet. It felt nostalgic here, and Cora slowed to a walk. She wandered around the dump for a while, trying to find somewhere to sit and think. Or even cry. She moved around a lot, just kicking around random pieces of scrap metal or jumping across old junk. Finally she found a place at the top of one of the piles, it was higher than some of the houses nearby, and yet, Cora still felt like she was at the bottom of the world. Tears fell down her face. she missed Astro already. Who cared though, he wanted her to be replaced, and that wasn't what she wanted. She felt wind whip at her face softly and peacefully, nothing was better on a warm morning like this. By now Cora could see the Sun just poking around the horizon, it would be morning soon. She had been running for longer than she thought. Suddenly behind her, Cora heard a loud scream and tumbling of metal. She flipped round and watched as a kid fell down the pile of junk. She didn't think, but Cora grabbed his wrist and pulled him up.

"you okay?" she asked, trying to see his face. when she did her eyes widened, "Zane?" she cried, falling backwards onto her butt. "but I thought, and you, and, and, what are you doing here?!" she stuttered. Zane looked at her in confusion. He was taller than before, and his hair had grown a bit longer, now a whippy fringe fell across his eyes.

"Cora? Are you feeling okay?" he asked. Cora blinked. This obviously wasn't too big of a discovery to him. She let her head fall into her hands and laughed in relief.

"Zane, Hamegg thinks your dead, the kids have a new leader, why did you just leave like that?" she sounded astounded. Zane sat down next to Cora. He shrugged and looked at the horizon. Cora watched him. He looked a lot more mature and adultlike now. Even though he was only seventeen there was a kind of knows-too-much feeling about him.

"I just, thought my life could be more than fixing robots for Hamegg. I decided I wanted to be an inventor myself, I can make anything I want now, not just what Hamegg wants," Zane explained. he pulled something from his backpack out and showed Cora a very small little piece of metal and a remote.

"you are looking at the future of GPS locaters, mine can go into stealth mode," he explained, clicking a button and the GPS disappeared, "and it can send messages into the carriers mind, just for fun. Plus it's environmentally friendly and never needs new batteries," he added with pride. Cora smiled at him.

"you always were a computer nerd, Zane," she teased, giving him a playful shove. "I'm gonna miss this place," she muttered. Zane blinked.

"what do you mean?" he asked. Cora looked at him and mentally swore.

"sorry, thinking out loud," she said. "it's nothing," she persisted when Zane gave her an "I don't believe you" look. Cora stood up and hopped down the junk pile flawlessly.

"if you ever want a place to stay, my family would be glad," she mumbled to him as she left.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Cora was still wandering around the city at around midday. It was a warm day and the sun shone irritably on her soft skin tone. She almost fainted three times, but she kept walking, if she went back home, she would only start crying again, a situation she didn't want to face. it almost killed her just to imagine her parents faces. So, though in silent pain, she kept walking. She recognised where she was, and if she was right, Cora would be at the city hospice soon. As the hospice came into sight, She stopped walking.

"why does this always happen to me?" she grumbled and crossed the street. No way in hell was she going to ask for help from complete strangers. Especially strangers that called her "sweetheart" or "honey". I mean, she was a seventeen year old who spent most of her life looking after kids, not being looked after by grown ups. Cora realised she was thinking out loud, and quickly stopped speaking. She shook her head. I'm not crazy, she told herself firmly. As she marched on she began to feel slightly lightheaded. She needed to sit down. There was a diner ahead of her. It was free for all person's under the age of 18. Score, she thought. She stumbled down the road towards the diner, her leg's feeling like heated jelly. As she tumbled in the waiters all gave her perplexed looks. Cora breathed heavily, starting to feel faint again. She looked at the window at the side of her. Her face was extremely flushed and her eyes were heavy. She looked tired and ill. She practiced smiling in the window for a few seconds before facing the waiter in front of her.

"hi, I'm here for the kid's meal," she stammered. The waiter raised an eyebrow at her. But reluctantly he scribbled down notes and led her to a table. As Cora stumbled behind him though, her vision began to fade and she felt dizzier than if she had taken a piggy back ride while Astro was flying. Her legs seemed to collapse under her and then all she remember was people shouting for an ambulance.

_The sky...sunset? why am I looking at a sunset? Oh but it looks so pretty. Wait, Cora what the hell are you saying? You sound like Widget. Where's Zane? Where's Astro? I wish they'd get here soon. Wait, where'd the sunset go? Tunnels? Darkness, moaning, god if this is what the "road to heaven" looks like I don't wanna go. Astro? What are you doing here? Oh wait, you're not Astro, your that Toby kid aren't you? What's going on where are we? What's that sound? They said Cora right? Yes it's me! where are you? What's going on?_

Beeping. That's what Cora heard. she hadn't opened her eyes yet, they felt too heavy. She didn't feel dizzy anymore though, so that was a plus. And she felt oddly relaxed, as if someone had given her one too many shots of heroin. It seemed that part of whatever she was lying on had something on it, there was a bit more pressure than normal on a different part of the bed. And it became apparent to Cora that someone had been asking her name softly. There were quiet murmurs in the background of the mixture of beeping and names. As Cora managed to pull her eyes into a squint she saw her mum above her with a loving smile on her face.

"your okay Cora?" she asked. Cora held her head and nodded as she pulled herself into a sitting position. Dr Tenma was talking to a nurse seriously near the door, which meant Astro must be there too. Cora glanced around. He wasn't here. A feeling of relief washed over her like a warm bath. Cora's father was sitting on the couch next to Cora's bed, he was asleep. Cora smiled at him, it wasn't very surprising.

"what were you doing sweetpea? Astro told us you were still in your room when he left, he said you wanted to be left alone," Cora snapped her head back to her mum. She felt a smile creep over her lips. Even when she was mad at him, it seemed, Astro still did what she asked.

"I'll have to thank him later," she joked. her face fell when her mother gave her a disappointed expression.

"sorry mum, I didn't want you to worry about me, I can handle myself," she explained. Cora's mum shook her head. her face fell and she stood up, trudging out of the room in sadness. Cora watched her leave. She had definitely said something wrong. Dr Tenma soon stopped talking to the nurse, he had a serious expression on, and Cora expected the worst. She moved over a bit so Dr Tenma could sit down next to her, which he did. He looked as if something had gone opposite to his plan, like how Astro said he looked before he left.

"hi, sir," Cora muttered.

"Cora why did you go off like that?" Dr Tenma asked. "I'm not your father, so I'm not going to tell you off, for Toby's sake,"

"it's Astro," Cora corrected. Dr Tenma smiled warmly.

"for Astro's sake, I want to understand, you know how much he worries about you," he cooed, turning Cora so she would face him.

"I don't care what Astro wants, Bill. He should stop worrying about me. all he..." she stopped, "all anyone wants to do is replace me, the same way you replaced Toby," she explained, staring into space, "but I don't want to be replaced, not if it means being artificial, this is the way the world wanted me to go, and that's the way it should stay," she concluded with a sincere smile. Dr Tenma smiled back.

"your a brave girl," he commented. Cora mouthed "thanks" and Dr Tenma stood up and left the room, "get some rest, you need it," he advised. Cora nodded and lay down on her pillow.

About five hours later, Cora felt herself drift into consciousness. She felt groggy and tired, but much more refreshed than earlier. The EKG was still blipping annoyingly and there was heavy breathing around her, as if someone was sleeping. Cora sat up and glanced around. What she saw made her smile. Astro was sleeping peacefully next to her bed, his arms crossed and his stance relaxed. For once. The lights in the entire ICU were off, almost all of them. but her room was still dimly lit by a lamp on the corner table. Dr Tenma's figure was sitting next to it. he was watching Astro with pride and yet wonder.

"what?" Cora asked him. Dr Tenma's trance like state snapped off and he looked up at Cora's wide eyes. he smiled.

"he's only been asleep for about fifteen minutes, since you went to sleep he's been sitting by you, talking softly to you, watching you. He really cares about you. But he seems sad," he explained, "did anything happen?" he added. Cora felt herself go red with embarrassment.

"I needed to get him to leave me be. The more he's around me the more I'll not accept what's coming to me," she told him, "so I shouted at him," she found her voice break. She didn't say anything for a while after that. She swallowed and cleared her throat. She looked at Astro. He had changed a lot over the years. His face was more defined and his voice had broken about a year before. he was a bit taller than Cora now. So much so that Cora had to look up at him now.

"how does he age?" she asked, mystified when she realised he had actually grown. Dr Tenma seemed as though he didn't fully understand either.

"he's becoming more and more human every day, that blue core energy has created a heartbeat. Since you first met him, he's gained veins and arteries. Somehow the mechanical parts of him are slowly manifesting into human tributes," Dr Tenma explained.

"does that mean he can get sick now? Like my panceetic, panceat,"

"pancreatic cancer. How can you not pronounce that?" Dr Tenma chuckled. Cora blushed. Suddenly her stomach began to feel like she had just been stabbed in the guts by a battle axe. Astro's eyes shot open. Cora yelped in pain and cringed onto her side, breathing hard. She felt extremely hot and yet she was shivering like a crazy person. Astro ran to her.

"Cora? Cora talk to me," he ordered. Cora felt tears in her eyes as she stared up at Astro's anxious face. Astro felt her forehead and placed his hand on her cheek. Cora managed to say "I'm sorry," before the pain overwhelmed her and she passed out. Doctors ran in fast and shoved Dr Tenma and Astro out as they performed procedures and moved her out to an operation room. Astro's hands clenched and unclenched. Dr Tenma placed a hand on his shoulder.

"she'll be fine, she's a strong girl," he assured as the doctors disappeared through a pair of swinging double doors.


End file.
